Primary anaplastic large cell lymphoma of the central nervous system: prognostic effect of ALK-1 expression.
Journal Article (Journal Article;Review)
Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) rarely occurs in the central nervous system. Although defined by its composition of large, pleomorphic, CD30-positive lymphocytes, ALCL is heterogeneous. Most are T cell but some are null cell. Most but not all have a characteristic 2:5 translocation producing the fusion protein ALK-1, which is reliably detected by immunohistochemistry. In systemic ALCL, ALK-1 expression correlates with young patient age and a favorable prognosis. Herein we report four new cases of primary central nervous system ALCL from the Mayo Clinic and incorporate additional data from five previously published cases. ALK-1 expression was determined in all nine tumors. Patient age was 4-66 years (mean 29 years) with a bimodal distribution: 6 < or = 22 years, 3 > or = 50 years. Six were female. Tumors were mostly supratentorial, five were multifocal, and seven had involvement of dura or leptomeninges. Seven tumors were T cell, two were null cell, and five of nine were ALK-1 immunopositive. Total mortality was six of nine. Three patients, 4-18 years of age (mean 13 years), were alive at 4.8-6.1 years postdiagnosis; these tumors were all ALK positive. Five patients, 13-66 years of age (mean 43 years), died of tumor 4 days to 11 weeks postdiagnosis; four of five of these tumors were ALK negative. One 10-year-old child with an ALK-positive tumor died of sepsis, but in remission. Central nervous system ALCL is aggressive. Our study suggests that a better outcome may be associated with young age and ALK-1 positivity, prognostic parameters similar to systemic ALCL.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- George, DH; Scheithauer, BW; Aker, FV; Kurtin, PJ; Burger, PC; Cameselle-Teijeiro, J; McLendon, RE; Parisi, JE; Paulus, W; Roggendorf, W; Sotelo, C
Published Date
- April 2003
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 27 / 4
Start / End Page
- 487 - 493
PubMed ID
- 12657933
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0147-5185
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1097/00000478-200304000-00008
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States